Sober Barton wants to take last chance

A repentant Joey Barton has pleaded with football fans to accept that he is a reformed character after spending 74 days in prison following assaults on a 16-year-old boy and a former team-mate.

Barton, who could be in line for a return to the Newcastle side in Saturday’s derby clash with Sunderland, says giving up drink — he has been sober since last December — has helped him to realise he must change or lose the career he loves.

“I have messed up on more than one occasion but nothing sobers you up like going to prison,” he said.

“It was not a nice experience and I know this is the last-chance saloon.”

Barton is eligible to play again after serving a six-match ban imposed by the Football Association after he received a suspended four-month prison sentence for an unprovoked training ground attack on Ousmane Dabo when the two players were both at Manchester city.

The midfielder would have almost certainly served time in prison for that assault if he had not already been given a six-month custodial sentence over an alcohol-fuelled attack on a teenager during a night out in his native city of Liverpool in December 2007.

Barton served 74 days of his sentence and is now hoping to rebuild his career and act as a positive example for other wayward young men aiming to turn their lives around.

As he articulated that objective, Barton could not however prevent himself courting fresh controversy by suggesting that he could be a more relevant role model than “squeaky clean” players like Michael Owen and David Beckham.

The claim triggered a torrent of outraged reaction on radio phone-ins on Thursday with listeners suggesting Barton should have waited until he has proved he genuinely is capable of acting as a role model, but the player insists his intentions are sincere.

“I hope I can be a shining beacon for kids who have been in trouble,” he said. “I have probably made a lot more people unhappy than a normal person. Hopefully young kids who look at squeaky clean, unbelievable professionals like David Beckham and Michael Owen but can’t relate to them, can relate to me.”